Take the Journey

Blog has been updated with a new destination map and itinerary. Departure on May 6. So far, so good. Here's where we're headed: ...
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Laura and I had a great weekend of Road Trip planning. We've decided 100% that we're adding Portland and Seattle to the trip, and then that long push to Mount Rushmore will go via Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and Golden Spike (!) in Utah. Not quite ...
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We've got our full three weeks planned out and most of our overnight stays planned and booked. Roadside mom and pop places, cabins, low-end, high-end. It's shaping up to be a run-and-gun three weeks. A few lodging highlights: Colby Kansas's Mom & Pop Country Club Drive Motel ... rolling the ...
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Yes, that's right. 46 Days. Updated the blog a bit this morning with new artwork. Also testing out the email subscription feature. Over the weekend we got a few essentials, travel bags, portable coffee maker, lots of other odds and ends ...
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March 26, 2017. Let's call this the unofficial first stop of our road trip. A bunch of us (Laura, Mom, Helen, Lynn, Sandy, Lindy, Pam, Karen, Joshua) went to Pittsburgh this weekend to see Jonathan and AJ do the Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel show with the Pittsburgh Symphony at ...
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April 9, 2017. If Pittsburgh two weeks ago was our first unofficial stop on our Road Trip, then this would be our second. We took the weekend and went to Lynn and Sandy's. It's always so much fun when we go out there. It's the first time we've seen the deck finished, ...
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How quickly did that go by? So much has happened in four years, yet it seems as if it was just the snap-of-the-fingers ago that Laura and I dropped Max of at Forbes Hall in Pittsburgh ready to start his freshman year. Now here it is, four years later, and he's ...
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We're freaking out! How is it that we've been planning this trip for more than six months and the day before we go I feel like I'm not prepared? Song of the day: With a Little Help from my Friends, The Beatles (Who else could it be?) ...
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Well, you learn a lot about people when you spend twelve hours in a car with them. Who am I kidding? The drive was exactly as I thought it would be: Outstanding. In fact, we reached a point of major goofiness in West Virginia, the result of which will be revealed ...
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The drive from Knoxville to Nashville was so nice. We left really early in the morning and weaved our way through the East Tennessee mountains, cutting in and out of fog banks on a highway that was almost exclusively ours. Then of course we stopped at a rest stop and ...
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On a trip like this, some days are “see stuff” days, and other days are a “let’s get there" days. Today was a “let’s get there day.” We were out of our hotel room (quite the stellar accommodations in St. Charles, about a half hour west of St. Louis) at ...
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What a day. We drove almost 400 miles ... and walked 400 more. (Well, not really, but we were all over the place.) Walked into Denver from Chelsea's apartment ... twice — Oh yeah ... Chelsea! It was fantastic to have all afternoon and into the evening with Chelsea. She ...
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Remember when I said some days were "let's get there" days? Well today was another one of those. However ...
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I visited both Bryce and Zion National Parks in Utah once before, back in 1985 on a road trip with my friend Tommy. I vowed then that I'd be back because I thought they were the two of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I can tell you this: ...
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Wanted to add a few more photos of Bryce and Zion. I no longer will say photos don't do justice to the actual thing. It's obvious that's true, so why keep saying it? Bryce Canyon looks as if the gods spent the day making sand dribble castles and then turned them ...
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Continuing with more photos ... this time Zion. It was a tall order to do Bryce and Zion in one day ... but we did it. Yes, I'm sure we missed a lot, but what we saw was breathtaking ...
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Today's post is all Laura. Here we go! Our drive started with a moonlit excursion on Rt. 15 through the mountains - a different kind of beautiful view. Cactus dot the landscape. Next, Hoover Dam. Alas, the elevators were not working, so there were no tours today. But, the day ...
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It’s 6:30 AM on Sunday morning. It’s the first morning since we left a week ago that we aren’t rushing out the door to the next stop on our tour. It gives me a bit more time to recap our day in LA … and to soak up the incredible ...
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The Blog is running behind! Well, that happens sometimes. Gotta get on with enjoying the moments and not always have a camera between you and the real world. The next two day's posts are brought to you by Max Beedle. It's all your's, Max: The day started off with delicious ...
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(Post by Max) Since we were staying in the Santa Barbara area for the day we decided to take a trip up to Hearst Castle. The drive there along Highway 101 and 1 were amazing. All along the ocean with pull offs almost every mile. We decided to pull off ...
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Our time in Santa Barbara and San Francisco—especially for Laura and me—is very much about old friends not seen for a very long time. For me, to see Guy for and extended period of time (after seeing him only two or three times for a blink of an eye over the ...
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Another post from Laura! 8:30 AM. We walked down to the wharf and took pictures and then stopped for breakfast at Boudin—known for its sourdough bread. Breakfast sandwiches and coffee and bread made on premises. After a stroll and more pictures, we circle back to Boudin for sourdough loaves to ...
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On the night before we head out from Mt. Shasta on Thursday morning, I get a text from David Healy, my cousin, who’s house we are staying at in Portland. He suggests we consider swinging by Crater Lake on the drive up. We do, and its yet another home run ...
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Our day begins with a rare, leisurely morning. We wander downstairs at (is it 8AM? is it really THAT LATE?) and my cousin David fixes up coffee and espresso. We are so spoiled by David and Sherry by now that it’s ridiculous. But we can't delay ... we must investigate Portland because … ...
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Laura’s posting today. Yay! We arrived in Seattle around 9:30 AM, met David’s cousin Don Healy and his wife Liz, and then proceeded to downtown Seattle to tour Pikes Outdoor Market. Yay! We got to see a seafood worker toss a salmon—a bit of a tourist enjoyment! I like the ...
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We drove for 12 hours ...
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Ok, I've had a few beers. Let's see how this goes. Today was the second leg of the "lets get to Mount Rushmore" drive. Shorter than yesterday, but still close to 500 miles. Weather was all over the place. Sunny, overcast, rainy, gusts of 40 MPH, snow in the Black ...
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This Mountain-sized Presidential Post is brought to you by Laura and David. The morning started with a coffee stop at “Grapes and Grind” at 7:15 AM in Keystone, SD. Even though they didn't open until 8 AM, the manager opened up for us – such a wonderful surprise! (We decided ...
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We woke up in Minnesota to a cloudy day and a 373 mile drive ahead of us. Coming near the end of our road trip, we weren’t going to let those things stand in our way. Sometimes you need to buck up, and this was that morning. In the end, ...
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We’re up early again. We’ve got two more stops on our itinerary before we return home. Today is Chicago. Every city we visit on this trip is so unique unto itself: Denver, LA, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. What a ...
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Tomorrow we drive home. But today, Friday, gives us our last destinations on our itinerary. Cleveland, Ohio, where we'll make a quick stop at the Christmas Story House, and then spend an afternoon at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Christmas Story House is a museum in the Tremont ...
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This is David. This is Laura. Well, I had a pretty good run. Except for the wonderful nights that we stayed at family or friends houses, all through this trip we stayed mostly in Mom & Pop motels. I researched (2017-speak for "Googled") before we left, weighing price (target: $50-$80), ...
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7823 miles. 24 states. 22 days. We got home on Saturday at around 1:30 in the afternoon; decided to take I-80 instead of the Turnpike (since we've driven that stretch of road a lot in the last four years visiting Max at Pitt). I'm glad we did. I hadn't done ...
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Happy Memorial Day. We’ve been home for two days. Mom and Helen stopped by yesterday and we tortured them by showing them all of the pictures we took (2,413 ... but to be fair I did whittle the final count down to 1,269). They were here all afternoon and into ...
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Hello all. I know what you're thinking ... I thought I was through with that whole Beedle Road Trip Blog thing. Well, you're right. However, if you'll grant me one final indulgence, today is a pretty special day and I wrote something I'd like to share about Max ... and ...
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 2017, my Year Of The Road Trip, is almost over. I have re-lived that three-week sprint across the United States with my family many times this year, and I’m sure I will continue to for many for years to come. But now that 2017 is ...
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